Experiments pay off for Prandelli despite loss

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli insisted that a number of his experiments had paid off despite a 2-1 defeat to Argentina.a

In what was the first meeting between the two teams in 12 years, debutant Lorenzo Insigne scored for Italy after Gonzalo Higuain and Ever Banega had given Argentina a two-goal cushion.

The young Napoli forward was one of the bright sparks for Prandelli, while Daniele De Rossi also shone filling in at centre-back.

And afterwards Prandelli hailed the opportunity to refine his team against the South Americans.

"We met a team of great quality, one of the best in the world," the 55-year-old told RAI Sport.

"We made mistakes coming out of defence and started badly, but in my view we moved the ball well. We lacked that grit and finish around the box that a team needs. Credit to Argentina, as they are a very strong side.

"We have to qualify before talking about the World Cup and I want to get there quickly. The experiment with De Rossi, if we want to call it that, went pretty well.

"We all wanted this friendly and I am happy because we saw so many children and families in the stadium. It was not easy to bring 40,000 people to the stadium on August 14, so it means the message was received."

Italy, who currently top UEFA World Cup qualifying Group B, still have four matches to go to secure their place at the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Their next qualifier is against second-placed Bulgaria on September 6.